1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method for operating a high-performance printer or a copier, whereby a plurality of monitoring units sense malfunctions of the high-performance printer or of the copier.
2. Description of the Related Art
A high-performance printer, for example, prints single sheets or web-shaped sheet material at high speed, for example more than 50 pages DIN A4 per minute. In order to assure this high printing speed and the further-processing of the sheet material, a plurality of complex units and control modules are required. Given outage of a single module, operation of the high-performance printer can be so highly disrupted that printing must be stopped. In order to be able to immediately recognize malfunctions, a plurality of monitoring units sense error conditions. One such monitoring unit can, for example, be a simple path switch that recognizes the opened condition of a device. These monitoring units, however, also include complex detector devices that, for example, determine the wear of a unit.
A great number of error conditions, for example more than 300 different error conditions, are possible due to the complexity of the high-performance printer or copier system. In order to eliminate the error conditions, an operator analyzes the error that has occurred and attempts to eliminate the error, for example by replacing parts or undertaking new settings for the high-performance printer. In the prior art, it is standard that the operator is informed about the error condition on a display. The operator can then call a menu at the control panel unit, i.e. the menu being a compilation of texts in a list which the operator references to receive assistance for eliminating the individual errors.
Given the occurrence of relatively serious errors, the operator must have a high degree of training and very good knowledge about the high-performance printer in order to be able to eliminate the error, for example given errors in the transfer printing unit that require the replacement of parts and the re-setting of the transfer printing unit. In order to be able to undertake the measures for eliminating errors, a highly qualified maintenance technician is often called, this person being given technical instructions for eliminating the error on the basis of a technical handbook or, respectively, a maintenance handbook. This technical handbook is indispensable because specific technical specifications of specific high-performance printers are described therein. Since a highly qualified maintenance technician, however, is not always immediately available and, on the other hand, the standstill of the high-performance printer means economic loss, less trained operators often attempt to eliminate the error. Practice has shown that such an elimination of errors frequently leads to greater damage. Further, practice has shown that the technical handbook is not always immediately available and an elimination of errors is initiated without consulting the handbook. Such a procedure also often leads to greater damage.
An object of the invention is to specify a method for the operation of a high-performance printer or of a copier which provides clear and comprehensive assistance for an operator in case of error.
The invention offers a method for operating a high-performance printer or copier, whereby a multitude of monitoring units acquire error statuses of the high-performance printer or copier, a control panel unit that serves for the input of operating instructions and for displaying operating conditions displays these error conditions on a display, the error conditions are divided by a controller into a first error class and into at least one further error class dependent on the seriousness of the error elimination, information are called by actuating an input at the control panel unit given the occurrence of an error condition of the first and of the further class and are displayed on the display, these information containing instructions for error-handling, and whereby the presence of an error condition of the further class is displayed on the display of the control panel unit. In one exemplary embodiment, access to the specific information for error handling of error conditions of the further error class ensues via an access authorization procedure.
The invention is based on the consideration that error conditions that can be eliminated with relatively simple measures should be distinguished from error maintenance technician is often called, this person being given technical instructions for eliminating the error by a technical handbook or, a maintenance handbook. This technical handbook is indispensable because specific technical specifications of specific high-performance printers are described therein. Since a highly qualified maintenance technician, however, is not always immediately available and, on the other hand, the idle high-performance printer results in economic loss, less trained operators often attempt to eliminate the error. Practice has shown that such attempts to fix the problem frequently leads to greater damage. Further, practice has shown that the technical handbook is not always immediately available and attempts to eliminate the errors are initiated without consulting the handbook. Such a procedure also often leads to greater damage.
European Patent Document EP-A-0 429 056 describes a method for operating a copier, whereby a plurality of monitoring units sense error conditions of the copier. These error conditions are communicated to a central control via a long-distance data transmission in the form of signals, this central control outputting these error conditions at a control panel unit having a display. Error conditions can be classified such that, dependent on the seriousness, these error conditions are allocated to a first error class and to at least one second error class. In conjunction with the error conditions and the error classes, an operator can fetch further information with an input into the control panel unit. The information also contain instructions for error handling.